At about the same time Detroit Pistons coach John Kuester said playing time would go to the players who worked the hardest in practice, Tracy McGrady found himself sitting on the bench.

Is Kuester unhappy with how hard McGrady is working? Or is he simply really pleased with how hard others are working in comparison? It is tough to tell. But one of McGrady's former coaches spoke about McGrady and his practice habits Friday during the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.

"Tracy McGrady was 1,000 hours of practice," Van Gundy said in an article on SI.com. "He should be a Hall of Fame player. His talent was other-worldly. He was given a great leg up in the race against other players. He’s as close as I’ve ever seen to someone with a perfect body and a good mind."

Van Gundy also said McGrady was the "most gifted player I've ever had on a roster."

“I like a lot of things about Tracy McGrady," he said. "I just wish I could have changed his practice habits and his mentality.”

McGrady has not played in four consecutive games for the Pistons. He was dressed and available Feb. 25 against Philadelphia, but Kuester went with the six players who took part in the morning shootaround that day in that game. McGrady was not at The Palace on Saturday due to an illness, and has been the only healthy Pistons player who did not play in each of the two games since.

Kuester was asked Friday following practice why McGrady has not been playing.

“The energy that the guys had in that Utah game, I wanted to stay with them and some of the other guys that had good practices during that time,” Kuester said. “We cleaned the slate. We're trying to say, 'Hey, listen, bring it every day.' …

“We've got to get better. Everybody's got to get better, and everybody's got to make that commitment.”

McGrady seems less than thrilled with the current situation. He answered questions from followers on Twitter early Friday night.

In response to a follower who asked him how it feels to play with the Pistons, McGrady responded: "Looks like I'm (a) day late and dollar short."

Another follower asked what he thinks of his coach. "He's trying," McGrady wrote. "Losing breeds dysfunction. We're all in it together though."

He did say he would consider staying with the Pistons past this season, but also responded to someone who suggested he should finish his career in Chicago with: "That would be a good look."